Of Happiness and Forgotten Sandals
by Vhii1217
Summary: Three ficlets of Fuji's muse on happiness, Balinese wooden sandals, and happiness again. Meeting at traditional market, dinner with Spanish horn musician, and feet fight ensued. Sh-ai TezuFuji, fluffy angst


Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis isn't mine. Tezuka and Fuji belong to each other.

A/N: This story is the rewritten version of 'Here, We Find Eternity'. Actually, very few details remain from the previous version. Starts off a bit angsty and (to my dismay) turns out somehow humorous in the middle. Happy ending, baby 

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_Of Happiness and Forgotten Sandals_

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#1 Happiness

In my younger and more naïve age, I've always believed that happiness is meant for every creature existing in this world. After all, that's the purpose of living, isn't it?

Happiness can come with many different faces: satisfaction, hope, glory, peacefulness, contentment, gratefulness, love… There is happiness behind every goal we set to reach.

Now I'm older and supposedly wiser, yet my opinion concerning happiness surprisingly hasn't changed. Every living creature, every human deserves to be happy.

But exactly because I've grown older and wiser, I know that happiness isn't something that comes upon us just like that. Happiness isn't human right, therefore there is a certain price we got to pay in order to be happy.

But that child within me, the side that still bears a degree of innocence and naivety, keeps on thinking that there is happiness lies behind every single thing, so much that we don't need to pay. The older and wiser me is just too blind to see.

There is happiness in every single breath, every single movement, every single word…

There is happiness in us, and we don't need to pay for it. We just have to search.

But perhaps we can't find that piece of feeling without help from others. That's why even if we have happiness within our own heart, we won't be happy on our own. We need someone to bring it out.

With utmost respect, Tezuka Kunimitsu, I dare to say that you are that 'someone' for me. It was you who could bring true smiles and carefree laughs out of me. With you, I felt the satisfaction of being together with the greatest person I've ever known in my life. With you, I could have my hope soar high limitlessly. With you, I felt the glory as though I could reach any height as long as we were together. With you, I felt peacefulness within silent affection we shared. With you, I felt content and complete.

I'm forever grateful to you, Kunimitsu, for all it's worth. And most importantly, for giving me the highest happiness of all: love.

If only you're still here, Kunimitsu, surely I can taste that sweet happiness all over again. If only you're still beside me, surely I wouldn't have curled up here, at the farthest corner of my new but lonely apartment, with nothing to taste but the saltiness of my tears.

#2 The Tale of Forgotten Sandals

If I were to think about happiness, the last word that will come to my mind is sandals. Surely sandals have no connection whatsoever with happiness, right? Wrong.

Let me tell you the tale of the most amazing sandals in the world (in _my _world, at least).

---oOo---

"Bali?"

The middle-aged woman in front of me nodded. "Yes. It's an island in Indonesia, South-East Asia. It's a famous tropical island which many international tourists visit. For that reason, the head of redaction wants us to write a two-paged article about it."

I just said okay. I indeed needed a distraction that time. Even two years after Kunimitsu left because of the force from his family, I still couldn't get over him. When I had nothing important to think about, my mind would automatically drift to him. That was why I chose to work like a horse. That way, I would be preoccupied all day and afterwards I would be too tired to bother crying.

Moreover, I mentally drooled over the general information about Bali she gave me. From her, I knew that Bali was an island with incredibly beautiful lakes, mountains, and tropical beaches. Beside its magnificent natural landscape, Bali is also known for its unique culture. There were grand ancient temples and famous traditional dances I wouldn't want to miss seeing. I could also buy antique handicrafts for souvenirs.

I always had a thing for world's cultures and beautiful views, simply because it would fulfill my thirst in photography. That was why I became eager to visit the tropical island.

--

"This is just so cute!" My companion, Wakami Miya, squealed upon seeing a belt decorated with various shells. We were at Sukowati, a market which specifically sold traditional handicrafts for souvenirs.

"It is," I commented with a smile. We had just finished our works and still had one day free before we got to head back for Japan. I was pleased with the condition; I had snapped six rolls film of photographs and still hadn't had enough of that. Tonight and tomorrow will be fun.

"What do you want to buy, Fuji? It would be a waste if you don't buy anything!" Wakami said.

"Hmm," I responded wordlessly. I took a pair of wooden sandals and began to examine it.

"Sir! Ah, Sir!"

I looked up to see the owner of the shop trying to call someone. The old lady kept waving at a certain direction. I glanced at the direction and saw the back of a tall man. He was walking forward, completely unaware of the call.

"What's wrong, Ma'am?" I asked her.

"That man just bought these sandals. He's paid but he forgets to bring these," the old lady answered in Malayan-accented English while gesturing at the sandals on her hand. "He seems like a Chinese or Japanese, that's why he didn't respond when I called him in English."

The lady looked worriedly at the man's direction as he kept on walking. I took pity on her and offered to give the forgotten sandals to the man. "Let me, Ma'am."

She eyed me for measure. I laughed lightly, "I won't run away with the sandals. If anything, my friend is here and you can keep her until I'm back." Laughing more at Wakami's protesting glare, I added, "Quick, before he's gone."

The lady decided to trust me. "Thank you, young man."

I took the offered sandals and ran towards the man. I almost lost sight of him if only he didn't stand a head taller than others. I saw his brown head and made my way towards him.

"Sumimasen," I called while tapping his back carefully. I was trying my luck. If he was not Japanese… well, at least he would acknowledge the tapping, right? "You forgot your sandals…"

The man turned around and I got the rudest shock of my life.

"K-Kunimitsu?"

He looked no less shocked than I was. "Shuusuke?"

Well, at least he didn't stutter.

I could just stare at him and he stared in return. All thoughts about sandals flew from my head.

After what felt like a stretched eternity, we broke eye-contact, simply because we were blocking the way and people were protesting. We stepped aside carefully.

"Long time no see, ne, T-Tezuka?" I tried to ease the tension and smile at him. However, my legs were shaking and my voice was quivering. "What are you doing here?"

"World Tennis Tournament," he answered. We stayed silent for a while before he asked back, "You?"

"Having a job here," I replied. He seemed to be confused. Right, I entered journalism world only after we broke up. "Writing an article about tourism site for a magazine."

The penny dropped. He then looked at me intently, making me shift in nervousness. It wasn't like me to fidget like an anxious ex-girlfriend, but Tezuka Kunimitsu could bring whatever different side I had in me.

"Shuusuke," his deep voice called my given name, sending an inevitable pleasure-induced shudder down my spine. He chose his words carefully, "Do you… have time this evening?"

I opened my eyes and studied his feature. He seemed just impassive for untrained eyes. Two years, however, didn't do anything to lessen my capability of seeing right through his soul. He had his own share of nervousness, just like me.

"I… think so," I answered just as carefully.

"Would you want to go out with me?" He blurted out before realizing what he'd just said. A blush crept up his cheeks. "I mean, do you mind to… have dinner with me?"

"For the sake of old time?" I asked, fully meaning to tease. He, however, stiffened at my words. I immediately regretted my action. "I mean…"

"Ah," he cut in and looked me in the eye. "For the sake of old time… and future."

I was surprised and hesitant at the first, but then my smile turned genuine. Gazing back at him, I echoed, "For the future."

The corner of his mouth quirked up, "At Jimbaran, 6 o'clock?"

"Sure."

We parted with his kissing the top of my head chastely. My smile bloomed. I felt like drowning in old memory that, hopefully, would replay in the near future.

"Kunimitsu?"

He looked back at my call. I raised the bag in my right hand and flashed the happiest smile I've ever mustered ever since two years ago, "Your forgotten sandals."

He walked back and accepted the bag.

"What happened to your 'Yudan sezu ni ikou', ne, Mitsu?" I asked playfully.

A faintest blush appeared on his regal cheekbones, "I thought I heard someone's voice at that shop and… I just forgot everything."

--

He appeared just as the big clock across the road struck six. I chuckled. Same old Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"The forgotten sandals?" I inquired with a laugh, gesturing at the wooden footwear attached on his feet. The sandals had three strings of colorful laces and expressive painting on the wood. Not something you would imagine him wearing, but still looked stylish somehow.

He nodded wordlessly with a slight smile that astounded me off my mind. I was more than surprised when he took my hand and casually walked me inside Jimbaran area. I blushed furiously. Thankfully it was already dark.

Jimbaran was a dining site at Kuta Beach, the most popular beach in Bali. There was a line of restaurants providing wide assortment of seafood. There were tables and chairs set at the beach, so that visitors could dine in open air. Under the clear starry sky, accompanied by sound of the waves and a group of horn musicians singing Spanish songs, a night couldn't be more beautiful.

Add a Tezuka Kunimitsu across your table and things were way beyond beautiful. Perfect.

Our food came and we started to dig in the delicious-looking seafood. It was just an old habit that whenever we were dining and were in playful mood, we would have a foot fight under the table. It was me who initiated the game and soon enough, our legs entangled in a wild dance. Praise us for still being able to maintain straight faces.

That was, until Kunimitsu happened to forget his wooden sandals and kicked my shin hard.

"OUCH!" I jumped slightly from my seat, startling the horn musicians near me. Face burning crimson, I muttered an apology to them who laughed (quite politely) in return.

"Shuusuke!" Kunimitsu stood and went to kneel beside my chair. He examined my throbbing shin. "Are you okay? I'm sorry…"

Seeing his serious face turned anxious as he fussed over my bruised leg, I couldn't help but chuckled. He looked up curiously at the sound of my laughter and I was quick to capture his lips in a kiss, care not about the world. As he started to kiss back, I knew I had made him forget again.

See how far forgotten sandals could bring us?

#3 Happiness Again

I stretch as I stand up from my activity. Carefully, I carry my 'artwork' to his—no, our—living room.

Yes, _ours_. Shortly after we came home from Bali, we had a long serious talk about two years ago, now, and tomorrow. He told me that his family had tried to match make him with several girls, but he promptly refused. His family had given up on forcing him to marry a girl since months ago. Afterwards he looked for me, but I no longer live at the same place as I used to.

Kunimitsu even brought me to meet his family and indeed they gave us their consent. He then asked me to move to his apartment and I complied happily.

"Shuusuke," I'm a bit startled when I hear Kunimitsu calls. "What is that?"

I grin happily as I present the glass box for him to see. "Your beautiful sandals."

Kunimitsu looks at the wooden footwear as if it were a caged snake, "I know it's beautiful and all, but why place it there?"

"I want to exhibit it," I say while gazing at the sandals lovingly. "You know how far these sandals bring us."

He heaved a sigh, his cheeks turn slightly pink. I grin even more. I just love to tease Kunimitsu.

"By the way, dinner's ready," I say as I put the box carefully on the table. "Special Green-Spiced Crab, Fried Floured Shrimps, and Grilled Bangkok Fish."

He raises an eyebrow in amusement. "Balinese seafood?"

"For the sake of old time," I answer merrily. "It's not really Balinese, though, since I can't get the spices here, so… just call it Fujinese seafood."

His eyebrow goes up even more. "It means you replace all the missing ingredients with wasabi."

"Saa," I flash a smile at him. "Just sit down and try some."

He obeys and we start to dig in the food. I laugh at his surprised face as he finds the food decent enough.

"You know, I wouldn't want my dear tennis star to forfeit his match because of stomachache," I say cheerfully.

He let out a precious laughter that's only meant for me. Then his feet find mine and soon we are engaged in a foot fight again. Only this time he wears fluffy slippers instead of wooden sandals.

There is no wave or starry sky or horn musicians, but I'm still happy nonetheless. At least I still have someone who kisses me in the middle of dinner.

I am really, truly happy.

**END**

A/N: Thank you for reading! Wooden sandals for those who review! ^^


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